Did the better team win?

Tomorrow night, I'll have a game that the home team should win handily. Last year, it would have been a 40-point game. The home team stopped just a hair short of state, and the visiting team was at the bottom of the standings. This year, the home team has dropped off a little, and the visiting team is starting the long road back to respectability--but it still should be a 20-point game or so.

But what if it isn't? What if the visiting team pulls off the upset? Does that mean that I didn't do my job?

One of my recent partners seems to think so.

After a recent game, as we were going over the game, he said something along the lines of "It's all okay though, because the team that deserved to win, won."

I've also heard it said that if the officials do their jobs right, the better team will win every time.

And I just don't buy it.

While I think it's the officials' job to administer a form of justice, I don't think the winning team should factor into an officials' thoughts whatsoever. I'll call fouls, and I'll be aware of the score. I even want to know who's favored so I can get a sense as to the participants' mindsets, which have such a massive impact on what happens on the floor. But the way my partner put it, I need to be keeping track of who I believe "deserves" to win the game, and if they don't win, it's my failing.

Ridiculous. My partners and I are at the game only because we could give a crap who wins. We're interested only in safety and fairness, not in outcome. Sometimes there are upsets. Sometimes, the better team doesn't even win, and it's not always the officials' fault (coaching and dumb luck factor in).

And I've got enough on my mind without considering these kinds of questions.

I have a game to ref.